In 1863, Moore moved to Blackfoot, Montana and then to
Walla Walla, Washington. Arriving penniless, he took a job as a clerk in a general store. In 1869, he partnered with H. E. Johnson and Company to form Paine Brothers and Moore, where he worked until 1877 as a dealer of general merchandise and farm supplies. He married Mary Elizabeth "Molly" Baker on March 26, 1873, and the couple had three sons, Frank Allen, Walter Baker, and Robert L. Moore served two terms as a member of the Walla Walla City Council, 1877 and 1878. He was elected to the office of Mayor of Walla Walla in 1877. In March 1889, Moore was appointed by President
Benjamin Harrison as the final Governor of
Washington Territory. Taking office in April 1889, he dealt with major fire disasters in Seattle, Spokane, and Ellensburg while preparing for the transition from territory to statehood on November 11, 1889. Moore served as vice-president and president of the Baker-Boyer National Bank, and three years on the executive council of the American Bankers Association. In 1913, he was elected president of the board of overseers for
Whitman College in
Walla Walla. ==Death==